December 20, 2015

Top Ten Korean Movies of 2015 (Sort of)

This year I deliberately went back to what drew me to Korean movies in the first place: Crime pics! This strategy resulted in one of the strongest top ten lists I've had since I started the blog. It also meant that there were a number of thrillers I would've probably included in years past but simply didn't make the cut this time around  Hwayi, The Divine Move, Traffickers, The Target. But hey, end-of-year lists have no mercy.

1. Rough Cut: Jang Jun's pulpy film about a movie thug (Kang Ji-hwan) who enlists a real-life thug (So Ji-seob) to be his co-star made me deliriously happy.

2. Monster: Every year, I see at least one amazing serial killer movie out of South Korea. This year, Monster was IT.

3. A Good Lawyer's Wife: This disenchanted couple (the oh-so-good Moon So-ri and Hwang Jeong-min) is about to find their malaise replaced by tragedy.

4. The Admiral: Though it doesn't have the imperialism of Henry V, this nautical war pic still reminds me of Shakespeare's rousing history.